Descend Into My Realm of Insanity
by Kazuki Naruse
Summary: (Requested by Illumi Senri) TakagixOtoya! Otoya's slowly losing his sanity in his mission to protect the one he loves; the one he truly cares about most. I hope you like it! :) Happy Birthday Illumi! :D
1. Chapter 1

Four members of the newspaper club sat around the large table, waiting for the president to lead the meeting. One of them was leisurely typing away on a laptop, browsing through multiple sites at the same time without being interested in any of them. Lines of computer code ran across his screen, but he wasn't paying much attention. He yawned lazily, leaning back in his chair.

At the head of the table, a tall blond cleared his throat. Everyone glanced up at him with the exception hacker, who continued observing the numbers and letters streaming before his eyes. He didn't even seem to notice the silence in the room until he received a swift kick to the ankle from the teenage girl sitting across from him. Her glaring blue eyes warned him not to oppose her. She cocked her head towards the front of the table, indicating that he should be paying attention. He was half-tempted to shrug and go back to his programming, but that would have earned him a kick to the knee. He knew that almost too well. So instead he shut his laptop and sat up, resting his elbows on the table as he turned towards his childhood friend.

Clearing his throat again, the president placed his hands palm down on the table and began. "We have an issue due tomorrow," he started. His tone was steady and serious. "Any ideas?" He glanced around the table, meeting Asada's reverent gaze, Anzai's strangely childlike expression, and Hide's wide eyes. Otoya's gaze lingered on Fujimaru's for just a few seconds. He broke away, returning his attention to the center of the table before him.

Asada spoke up, keeping her eyes fixed on Otoya. "I was thinking we could write study tips for midterms." She paused, then rambled on, "Those are coming up so I figured people would like some study help." She became suddenly quiet at the end of her sentence, looking down at the table. A light blush dusted her cheeks.

Otoya smiled reassuringly. "That's a great idea." he said in a firm voice. Despite his smile, his eyes were dead, giving him a somber, almost menacing expression. Asada and Hide didn't seem to notice. Anzai glanced at him, but her expression remained cheerful. Her wide brown eyes focused carefully on him, but the smile plastered on her face reduced any suspicion anyone could have felt towards her.

Fujimaru didn't look at her. His eyes were fixed on Otoya's. He could tell something was bothering his friend, but Fujimaru didn't ask. He knew Otoya didn't want the others to notice. He was trying to keep a blank expression so the other members of the newspaper club would remain oblivious. Maybe he would bring it up later, when they were alone.

"Asada and Anzai, you two write it. Hide, edit it. Fujimaru, format it and upload it on the website. I'll run it in the printed version of the paper tomorrow." Otoya said, addressing everyone individually. Everyone except Fujimaru, who had pulled his laptop screen up again, nodded enthusiastically and got up to leave. Anzai began chattering with Asada as they headed for the door. Hide walked behind them, nervously cramming his hands into his pockets as he silently listed the homework assignments he had to complete before being able to work on the article. They filed out of the room, leaving only Fujimaru and Otoya behind at the long table.

An awkward silence filled the space between them. A heavy tension weighed down on their shoulders but neither knew what to say. Fujimaru wanted to help out with whatever was bothering Otoya, but he didn't know how to ask. He had never been especially observant, so he had no idea how to bring up such a subject. He pretended to type something on his computer, lightly hitting the keys so they made a sound without changing anything on the screen.

At that moment, a cellphone buzzed, filling the silence and creating a second elephant in the room. Fujimaru reached into his pocket and flipped open his phone, checking caller ID before picking up.

Otoya watched Fujimaru speak on into the receiver, scanning his facial expressions in an attempt to understand the content of the phone call. Fujimaru's expression went from one of joy to one of concern in only a few seconds. He was quiet for a moment before relaxing.

"Alright. Yeah. I'll be home soon." There was a long pause. "Sure, okay. See you then." He hung up, slipping his phone back into his pocket before closing his laptop and packing it away in his backpack. He briefly met Otoya's gaze before turning back to zipping up the largest pocket. "I gotta get home. Haruka said Dad just came home and he wants to talk to me about something. He might have a project for me or something." Fujimaru stood up, slinging the heavy backpack over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow!" he said with a slight smile before turning away.

The thought of something to hack excited him. He totally forgot about Otoya as he ran out of the room, nearly tripping on his way down the hall. Otoya stood in the room alone, staring at the chair Fujimaru had vacated. He would just tell him tomorrow. Picking up his backpack from the floor, he walked out the open door, softly closing it behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day started out like any other normal school day in April; until Fujimaru Takagi waltzed onto school grounds with his head held high.

Otoya knew instantly that Fujimaru would do something to get himself into trouble; he almost always did. He stayed at the other end of the courtyard, observing silently from his spot. He watched as Fujimaru walked over to the bulletin board. From the disgusted look on his face, Otoya knew he had seen the expulsion notice directed at two of their fellow classmates. He knew Fujimaru wouldn't stay silent for much longer.

His sense of justice was something Otoya had always admired, ever since they were younger. He fondly recalled the excited look in eight-year-old Fujimaru's eyes the first time he'd hacked into a domain.

That expression hadn't changed over the years. His brown eyes still light up like the sun while a small smile plays on his lips. Otoya saw a hint of that expression appear on Fujimaru's face. He was in the mood for defiance.

The head teacher walked up behind him at the wrong moment, just in time to hear him grumble something under his breath like he always does. Otoya bit his lower lip to hide a smile. He also admired Fujimaru's blunt demeanor, though he would never admit that to anyone. After all, the son of a government official shouldn't display such inappropriate behavior. If he and Fujimaru hadn't been friends for years, or if his grandfather cared about his school life, he would be forbidden from associating with a delinquent like Fujimaru. That thought sent a shooting pain through his heart.

He watched the head teacher leave after having scolded Fujimaru and given him three more demerits. One of these days, all those demerits would catch up to him… Otoya sighed; as if Fujimaru would ever understand the gravity of his troublemaking.

Fujimaru went on to cause more havoc by lifting Asada's skirt, much to her embarrassment, which ended in several powerful kicks to Fujimaru's face. They would surely leave bruises on his pale skin, but he deserved them.

Sighing inaudibly, Otoya called out to the group. He decided to hold a meeting regarding the new post on the bulletin board.

"We're meeting at the clubroom during lunch break." He said, keeping his face blank and expressionless. He stood straight and tall, briefly glancing around the courtyard as he spoke.

"Yo! Otoya!" Fujimaru called back, rejecting the use of honorifics. Asada called him out on it, but he justified, stating "But we've known each other since we were kids. It'd actually be weird to start using honorifics now, don't you think?" He affectionately patted Otoya's head, gently ruffling his blonde hair.

Otoya reflectively whacked Fujimaru's stomach, hard enough to shut him up, light enough to avoid bruising him. He walked away without looking back at Fujimaru or the rest of the newspaper team.

Lunch rolled around slowly. Otoya was the first to arrive in the meeting room as usual. He strolled into the room, fixing the sleeves of his school shirt.

He walked into his spot at the head of the table, placing his hands on the table like he always did. His feet shifted into their usual position.

He waited silently until one by one the newspaper club members entered the room, impatiently checking his watch every minute. The last member to enter, seven minutes late of course, was Fujimaru, who received another punch to the stomach before taking his seat at the table.

"It's excessive no matter how I look at it." Otoya started, staring straight ahead. "That even the slightest transgression of school regulations is assigned demerit points-and point accumulation results in suspension." He glanced at the distracted Fujimaru near him with a worried look on his face before looking away and adding, "It's downright tyrannical." He worried about his childhood friend. If Fujimaru kept accumulating demerit points, he would soon be suspended as well, possibly even expelled. He addressed the entire group, meeting each of their eyes as he concluded, "As a time-honored organization, I feel that we, the Mishiro Academy School Newspaper, ought to impeach such an unreasonable system."

Asada and Anzai wholeheartedly agreed, Asada adding passion into her answer. Ignoring her, Otoya turned to Hide and said, "About that… Hide! The scoop I asked for." He recalled the text he had sent Hide just before homeroom.

"Yup!" Hide exclaimed, pulling out his notebook. Surprised by the sudden noise, Fujimaru stared at Hide with wide eyes. "So Hikage, before he came here, was supposedly at a certain well-known prep school, but… According to rumor, he flaunted penal regulations and sexually harassed female students left and right." Hide concluded.

Before he had finished his last word, the two girls had blown up. Both jumped out of their seats, yelling about the absurdness at Otoya. He flinched, caught off guard by their outburst, but quickly regained his calm composure.

He cleared his throat. "However," he started, addressing the two girls, "So long as we have no concrete proof, it'll all be rejected as hearsay. Given the circumstances, folks who'll testify won't be easy to find."

Anzai sat down with a sigh, casually slouching in her seat. "It's at times like these that I wish I knew some like Falcon-sama."

At the mention of the name, Otoya and Fujimaru exchanged glances. Both knew that name all too well.

Asada, on the other hand, didn't. "Falcon… Sama?" She let her hand fall on the table.

"You never heard of him?" Anzai asked, her voice teeming with excitement. "He's a famous hacker. The genius hacker 'Falcon'. Unlike the more common cracker, he's a bit of a 'champion of justice' sort. He's hacked into the computers of bad guys to find evidence of their crimes, exposed corrupt politicians…" She paused. "He's sooo cool, but I heard a rumor that he got caught…" She trailed off for a moment, allowing Fujimaru and Otoya to exchange another glance-this time one of relief. Fujimaru felt stressed yet flattered, a little flustered even, but he didn't let it show. Otoya could tell from the way he crossed his hands on the table that he didn't know how to react to the compliment.

Both of them relaxed as she concluded, "He hasn't popped up in a really long time…"

Little did they know, the 'really long time' would soon come to an end.


End file.
